I’ll say again: Thunderbirds are GO!

I’ve been laughing like a schoolkid all afternoon. We went and saw the new Thunderbirds, and what a hoot! I thought it was great. No, it definitely was not the Thunderbirds of before, except perhaps in name, but it was a fun summer “popcorn movie”. The kind of movie you go see to perhaps beat the heat, or the boredom, or whatever. And I knew going into it that I actually paid real money to see “Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed” so how bad could it be?

Bonus: Lady Penelope is my new hero. She went from looking like this:


(that’s her on the right)

to this:

PLUS she gets all the best lines and has a pretty cool car (for a Ford)

So yes, I loved it and yes, I’d go see it again, in a heartbeat. And product placement? Think cars (see above) and believe it or not: Ben and Jerry’s gets a brief spot.

The plot is no more complicated than your average Batman or Pokemon, the violence is hitting people with fists (the villain, Ben Kingsley, has mind control so no need for guns) and sex? Fuggedaboutit.

If you go see Thunderbirds, lemme know what you think…

Photography

It became rather obvious to me this week why I’m so torn about photography.

Let’s see:

    digital camera:

  • instant gratification
  • ability to only print the pictures you want, and get them on the net easily.
  • if you want high quality you have to buy better equipment (generally speaking) and either pay for decent prints or buy special paper/printer and print your own. You can still make good pictures without the extra steps, but they won’t be show stoppers, at least on paper, IMO.
  • I’ve decided I really like to have some photos hanging on the wall, on the desk, to send in cards and letters to friends. And I don’t like them to look cheap.”old fashioned” film photography:
  • Wait and see how the pics turn out
  • Easier (IMO) to make good looking pictures
  • Costs a buttload. I just spent $20 just to process/print one roll of film this week, since it was black and white ($4.00 just for processing) and there’s only one place in town that will process black and white film. Also waited two days to see pics.
  • If you care for your equipment it’ll last a long time. My camera was purchased in 1987 and has shot hundreds of rolls of film. To date the most I’ve done is buy a new lens for it (six years ago) because I wanted a slightly different look, not because the old one was broken. It gets new batteries every couple of years (little round electronics batteries)

– I can get pictures like this, though ->

(sorry, the picture was deleted, remind me and I’ll dig it up again)

Tales from the monkey store

From a friend who works for a major airline:

A woman was looking at the animals on display in a pet store. A few minutes later, man walked in and said to the shopkeeper “I’ll take a Ramp Monkey, please”.

The shopkeeper nodded and took a monkey out of a cage. He put a collar and leash on the animal and handed it the man, saying, “That’ll be $5,000.” The man paid and left with the monkey.

The surprised woman went to the shopkeeper and said, “That was a very expensive monkey. Most of them are only a few hundred dollars. Why did that one cost so much?

“The shopkeeper answered, “Ah, that’s a Ramp Monkey. He can drive tractors, load cargo, and guide aircraft into gates. All with no back talk or complaints. He’s well worth the money.”

The woman then spotted a monkey in another cage. “That one’s even more expensive! $10,000! What does it do?” “Oh, that one” replied the shopkeeper. “That’s a “Flight Attendant Monkey, she’s semi-attractive and personable. She can serve drinks and meals, and even evacuate passengers from an aircraft in an emergency. A very useful monkey indeed.”

The woman looked around a little longer and found a monkey with a $50,000 price tag. The shocked woman exclaimed, “This one costs more than all the others put together! What in the world can it do?”

“Well,” said the shopkeeper, “I’ve never actually seen him do anything except drink beer and play with his dick. But his papers say he’s a Pilot.”